Chapter 79: 79: Touch of the Luna

GRAYSON

I couldn’t see Belle, telling me she was somewhere behind Gulius’s invisible shield, but I could smell her. I could hear her strangled, terrified gasps. And that would be enough to guide me to her location.

I was still in wolf form when I started running in the direction of her scent.

Azazel’s clones had definitely done a number on me—more so than I’d like to admit—but the pain hadn’t hit me yet.

The adrenaline racing through me made my injuries completely tolerable, if not altogether painless. My sole focus was on saving my distressed mate.

The moment I passed through Gulius’s shield, I froze, stopping dead in my tracks. That nasty, old warlock had Belle pinned against a tree by her throat, her feet dangling at least a foot above the ground.

My goddamn heart lodged beneath my jugular. She was covered in blood. It splattered over her face and drenched her white shirt. It dripped from her shoes.

Her wide eyes met mine while she violently struggled against his hold. Fuck, she looked so ~small~ compared to Gulius. And delicate.

My innocent, helpless little mate was being strangled by one of the most powerful men in the world. It was my worst nightmare taking place right before my very eyes.

Something wet beneath my feet stole my attention for a single second. I was stepping in blood.

And there was someone lying on his stomach just feet away from me, his lifeless, red eyes seeming to look directly at me.

Azazel.

Azazel was dead.

“Take one more step,” Gulius said, “and I’ll snap her neck.”

I forced my wolf to give up control so I could shift into my human form. Once I was again standing on two feet, I addressed Gulius in what I hoped was a calm, even tone.

“~Put my mate down, Gulius.~” The power of the Mortars passed from my mouth and onto him, forcing him to heed my command.

He roared as he released his hold, and Belle went tumbling to the ground. She immediately started gasping for air, violent coughs making her whole body convulse.

A small amount of tenseness was released from my chest.

“~Step away from her,~” I continued. Gulius did, taking several steps back. “~Look at me.~”

The moment he was facing me, a level of fear I was not expecting became clear. Genuine terror was painted all over the warlock’s withered face.

Although I had never met him, I had always respected Gulius Mallor. I’d grown up hearing stories about him and his kind nature.

He was once regarded with great prestige, even a consultant to some of the greatest kings of Zaweth.

But now he had hurt my mate. So now I wanted to rip his head from his shoulders.

“He made me do it,” Gulius tried to explain. “He used the power of the Mortars to force me to take the borders down and hurt all of those people. I had no choice.

“I would never try to remove you from the throne. You are a wonderful ruler.”

I nodded slowly. “You claim that he used his powers to force you to do his bidding?”

Gulius nodded his head vigorously. “Yes!”

“How did he find you?” I asked.

Gulius frowned. “What?”

“You have lived in Zaweth all of your life,” I said in a low tone. “In fact, you’re known for your refusal to leave the kingdom grounds. You are often referred to as a hermit or a bit of a loner.

“But our records show you leaving Zaweth for the first time in hundreds of years just a little over a week ago.” I looked at Belle, checking to make sure she was okay.

She was still coughing, but it was gentler than before, and she had managed to bring herself up into a sitting position. She was going to be fine. I let out a breath of relief.

“Now, normally, I wouldn’t think twice about this information. You’re free to come and go from Zaweth as you please. But it is the timing that makes me question the true motives behind your visit to the human world.”

“Azazel made me do it!” Gulius exclaimed. “He forced me out of Zaweth!”

I grit my teeth together. I hated liars.

“Azazel isn’t allowed within the borders of Zaweth.

“There is no way for him to get information in either. He had absolutely no way of reaching you unless you reached out to him first. Unless you left Zaweth to meet with him.”

Gulius swallowed, his mind visibly racing to come up with an explanation to justify his strange behavior. “I-I…”

“But you could have left for another reason,” I kept going. “Maybe to visit an old friend or travel the countryside for a while.

“It seems a reasonable enough theory that Azazel could have tracked you down after you left kingdom grounds and forced you to do his bidding then.”

Gulius was nodding again, agreeing with everything I was saying with wide eyes.

I took another step forward, muscles bunching in preparation for the attack that was about to take place.

“But, you see, Gulius, if that were truly the case, an innocent man wouldn’t threaten to kill the girl who had just set him free. He wouldn’t strangle the mate of the king who he claims to respect.”

Gulius knew that it was all over. I could see it in his white eyes. Defeat. Acceptance.

He took in a shaky breath.

“I was once great. Not so withered and old. The kings of the supernatural once sought my advice. But now…” He trailed off, wincing as though the rest of the sentence caused him pain to think about.

“I thought I could have been great again. But it seems as though I have found myself on the wrong side of history. And now, after all these years, that is all I will be known for, isn’t it?”

I didn’t answer. He didn’t want an answer.

He nodded slowly and then gently shut his eyes. “Just make it quick.”

And I did. He was dead and on the ground, his neck snapped, mere seconds later.

It wasn’t because I felt pity for him or wanted to grant mercy—it was because I had a mate who needed me, and I didn’t want to waste another moment before making sure she was okay.

Belle whimpered my name when I pulled her into my arms, tears of relief cascading down her cheeks. My own relief was so great that I nearly sobbed myself.

“Are you all right?” I asked as I brushed her messy hair from her face. Her small body was shaking against mine, the trauma of the night taking its toll on her.

She nodded. “Are you? Y-You’re hurt. Your legs—”

She was talking about the wounds on either of my legs where Azazel had ripped pieces of my flesh out with his teeth.

I shushed her, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead to try to calm her worries. “They will heal. I have dealt with far worse than a few measly bites.”

She was quiet for a few seconds while she searched my expression. Then she said, “You’re naked.”

I couldn’t help the laugh that rumbled from my chest. “That’s what you’re worried about?”

I wiped a finger over her cheekbone, smearing some of the splattered blood on her face. My smile dimmed. “Did you kill Azazel?” My voice was gentler now, filled with concern.

Her blue eyes rimmed with more tears before darting over to where Azazel’s body still lay on the ground.

Then she did something I wasn’t necessarily expecting. She looked down between us at her shirt and grabbed the fabric, holding it out for me to see.

“He got his blood on my shirt. I think it’s ruined. I don’t think I’ll be able to get it out.” She chewed on her lip while trying to keep her tears at bay, still looking at the blood-stained shirt.

“I didn’t know there would be so much b-blood.”

My heart broke the tiniest bit. I tilted her head back up and placed my forehead against hers, trying to get her to look up from the blood all over her.

“I think you’re in shock, sweet girl,” I told her, continuing to smooth her hair back. “We’ll get you a new shirt. You don’t have to worry about that.” I kissed her lips once. “You saved me, Belle.”

“You were doing a terrible job on your own,” was her response.

I laughed again.

“If you ever lock me up and then go risk your life ever again,” she continued, “I’ll kill you. I’m not kidding. I’ve already killed one person. I know how to do it now.”

Fuck, this girl was cute. And very serious when she was threatening someone. “Consider me warned,” I relented. We would just have to cross that bridge when we came to it.

“And you can’t block your emotions from me either.”

“What?” I asked. “I didn’t…” My voice trailed off while I searched through our bond, only to find that she was right. I had been keeping my emotions from her, and I wasn’t even aware of it.

“I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t know I did that. It must have been some sort of instinct—my wolf trying to keep you from worrying.”

“Well, all it did was make me worry more. It’s why I knew I had to come find you. The only reason you would have done that was if you were in real trouble.”

“While we’re on the subject, how exactly did you get away from Liam? And how did you get here so fast? Last I checked on you, you were still in our apartment.”

Belle looked around at the forest surrounding us. The sun was starting to rise, so everything was a little clearer now as the morning mist caught in the light. It was beautiful.

“I-I honestly don’t know. I don’t even really know where we are—”

Her eyes stopped on something and narrowed while she tried to determine what it was. Fear immediately took over our bond. “Is that…?” she asked.

In an instant, she was gone from my arms. I veered back, looking down in confusion at the spot where my mate had just been.